Dinner! 2008

[nakji]

Just a quick weeknight dinner from the other day - I had some chicken thighs marinated in miso and negi, and pan-fried them. I had some bits of plain chicken thighs leftover from making lunch, so I cooked them in a simple teriyaki sauce. We had them with cucumbers in sanbaizu, chili daikon banchan, and grated daikon with wasabi. And steamed rice, of course.

[prasantrin]

nakji--is the miso chicken the one on the left or the right? Did you just marinate in plain miso (red? white? dark?) and negi, and that's it? No liquid? I'm intrigued!

[nakji]

nakji--is the miso chicken the one on the left or the right?  Did you just marinate in plain miso (red?  white?  dark?) and negi, and that's it?  No liquid?  I'm intrigued!

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The one in the foreground is the miso tare. It came premarinated at the supermarket - I don't think anything else was mixed in, but I didn't pay close attention to the label. I bought it meaning to cook it for bentos, but things were so crazy this week it got pulled out for dinner by mistake. It browned up really nicely, though - there may have been a touch of mirin in there as well. It was quite delicious, and some survived to be packed for lunch the next day, so all's well that ends well. I'm going back to the supermarket today, I'll see if there's any more, and check the label.

[Doodad]

Every 3 months the overlords I toil for throw me a bone in the form of a bonus. It gives me a chance to buy really good stuff without a hit on the family budget. So, I paid off a guitar amp and made this for dinner:

Salad of romaine, heirloom tomatoes, pears and Red Dragon cheese. Mex Bay scallops with smoked poblanos, shallots, wine and thyme. Clams and Ham with serrano ham on cherrystones with gr onions and basil. Paired with Gewurtz.

Grilled wahoo with jalepeno, jicama and chanterelle saute. Wild rice. Served on a leaf from the gigantic hosta in the garden. Chard on the side.

[dockhl]

Looks like quite a feast, Doodad. How were your wines?

[Shelby]

Doodad, your meal looks lovely and I love that plate in the top picture.

[Doodad]

Looks like quite a feast, Doodad. How were your wines?

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Very good Dockhl thanks for the help.

[C. sapidus]

Leftover pulled pork on a potato roll, topped with Memphis mustard slaw and two kinds of homemade barbecue sauce. One sauce tasted like a bowl of sweet-spicy tomato chilli without meat or kidney beans; the other was a vinegar sauce with dried chiles, salt and pepper, and a hint of brown sugar.

More on Behold my butt! (clicky).

[Megan Blocker]

I've been so busy with work the last few months that I've had to forgo checking out the Dinner! topic too often...then I come back and see that there are some truly amazing things happening here. I love looking at food from all over the world and seeing how other people feed themselves each day.

I've been on a Greenmarket kick this spring...here are some meals from the last couple of weeks, made primarily with stuff I've picked up there.

First up, chicken salad with homemade mayo, shallots, cucumbers and garlic chives. Served on top of a toasted crumpet - everything but the crumpet and the oil and mustard in the mayo came from Union Square!

Last week, I skillet-roasted a pork chop and topped it with a relish made of nectarine, pickled ramps, and parsley.

It's so nice to be able to take pictures of dinner, now that it's light in the evenings again. Almost makes up for 95-degree heat in early June.

[percyn]

Last night it was short ribs cooked sous vide for 25 hours at 151F.  They were seasoned with Chinese five-spice.  I brushed them with a hoisin sauce-spiked BBQ sauce which I glazed under the broiler.

Sides included a sweet potato puree (pictured underneath) and braised baby bok choy.

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How did you like the texture of the short ribs compared to traditional braising? I find the ones I prepare CSV are firmer and while tender, not quite as "fork tender".

[jsmeeker]

Citrus risotto with seared sea scallops.

[Megan Blocker]

Last night I made a modified carbonara with whole wheat spaghetti, sugar snap peas, pickled ramps, bacon, egg and parmesan cheese. Tossed with lots of pepper and some chives.

[MiFi]

Grilled Poussins and Ratatouille

Rhubarb-Straberry Crumble w/homade vanilla ice cream

[Chufi]

Megan, such a treat to see your beautiful dinners again. I missed them!

[Vicious Wadd]

Last night it was short ribs cooked sous vide for 25 hours at 151F.  They were seasoned with Chinese five-spice.  I brushed them with a hoisin sauce-spiked BBQ sauce which I glazed under the broiler.

Sides included a sweet potato puree (pictured underneath) and braised baby bok choy.

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How did you like the texture of the short ribs compared to traditional braising? I find the ones I prepare CSV are firmer and while tender, not quite as "fork tender".

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In answer to your question, they definitely had more integrity than some of the fall-apart ones I have cooked in a traditional braise. The recipe was based loosely on Daniel Boulud's 30 hour short rib recipe. While mine were tender and tasty, I could see how the extra five hours would have been beneficial.

[Megan Blocker]

Megan, such a treat to see your beautiful dinners again. I missed them!

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Thanks, Klary! It's good to be back.

So, I've been on a bit of a pickled ramp kick, if that wasn't incredibly obvious. The other night I had a pork chop with a strawberry and pickled ramp sauce. Love ramps. Love strawberries. Nothing bad about it at all.

[monavano]

When the temperature is still in the mid 90's at dinner time, the oven gets a break and I think salad dinners. Tonight, I threw a salad together with a mixed herb blend, leftover lamb chops, roasted golden beets, spring onion, sauteed fresh peas and blue cheese with a simple red wine vinaigrette.

[jeremyn]

This is my first post on the dinner thread! We just got back from camping this weekend, so here's our first night's meal:

Grilled polenta with fontina, Sally Schneider's "fried onions," and balsamic syrup (and some squash)

Good, but I am never able to get that super-crisp yet creamy polenta texture. Whether it's pan-fried or grilled, it is always just barely crisp, and it often loses that crispness a few moments after it's taken off the heat... But Sally Schneider's fried onions are always fantastic.

Ribeye

Also good, but at only 1" or so, a bit thinner than I would have liked. Costco was selling cryovac Prime Ribeyes for $9/lb, so I decided to try them out despite the thickness. What are your all's thoughts on the ideal Steak thickness?

Edited June 10, 2008 by jeremyn (log)

[menuinprogress]

Leftover pulled pork on a potato roll, topped with Memphis mustard slaw and two kinds of homemade barbecue sauce.

Really nice looking sandwich, Bruce! I'm generally not a fan of the slaw on pulled pork, but your picture makes me want to give it another try...

[rooftop1000]

Grilled "boneless pork ribs" with a warm grilled Yukon Gold Potato, Asparagus, and Spinach salad with a Lemon Dijon dressing

I grilled the Asparagus and sliced potatos then cut them into a bowl over the fresh spinach to wilt and added the dressing at the last min....could have used some cayenne or something but quite tasty

tracey

[Shelby]

Fajitas and beans!

[Dr. J]

This is my first post on the dinner thread!  We just got back from camping this weekend, so here's our first night's meal:

Grilled polenta with fontina, Sally Schneider's "fried onions," and balsamic syrup (and some squash)

Good, but I am never able to get that super-crisp yet creamy polenta texture.  Whether it's pan-fried or grilled, it is always just barely crisp, and it often loses that crispness a few moments after it's taken off the heat... But Sally Schneider's fried onions are always fantastic.

Ribeye

Also good, but at only 1" or so, a bit thinner than I would have liked.  Costco was selling cryovac Prime Ribeyes for $9/lb, so I decided to try them out despite the thickness.  What are your all's thoughts on the ideal Steak thickness?

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Was the taste of the prime rib from costco any good? I was going to buy it to try it on my next trip there.

[jeremyn]

I thought it was good, but I eat ribeyes so rarely that I'm probably not a great judge. I'd say it's definitely worth a try.

[tupac17616]

roasted capon

I didn't have a clue what capon was when I bought this thing, but it sure was tasty. Really tender. Also used the carcass to make a delicious tortilla soup the next day so nothing went to waste.

[Prawncrackers]

Capons are castrated male chickens, traditional xmas bird around these parts. Looks delicious.